A total of 188 horses, including 47 foreign-based runners from as far afield as South Korea, have been pre-entered for the 36th renewal of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, to be held for a record 10th time at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1 and 2.
W. S. Farish's Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) would need a few things to go his way, but a victory in the Classic would enhance his chances for a Horse of the Year title and would sew up champion 3-year-old honors. Winner in his two most recent appearances of the GI Runhappy Travers S. and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup (via the DQ of the re-opposing Vino Rosso {Curlin}), the chestnut will be looking to give his Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey an elusive first victory in the 10-furlong feature.
Trainer Bob Baffert, a 16-time Breeders' Cup winner, sent out the Classic hero three straight years from 2014-2016, including twice at Santa Anita, and 'TDN Rising Star' McKinzie (Street Sense) looks to add to that total this time around. The unlucky runner-up behind GI Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile hero and GI Sprint favorite Mitole (Eskendereya) in June, the bay colt was ultra-impressive in annexing Saratoga's GI Whitney S. in August, but stubbed his toe in dropping a 2 1/4-length decision at the hands of the supplemented Mongolian Groom (Hightail) when last seen in the GI Awesome Again S. Sept. 28.
Fellow 'Rising Star' Elate (Medaglia d'Oro) has a first preference in the Classic, sidestepping a clash with Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) in the GI Distaff. One of two in the race for her sire alongside GI TVG Pacific Classic romper Higher Power, Elate makes her final career appearance over what appears to be her optimal trip.
Midnight Bisou will try to complete a perfect season as one of the championships' heaviest favorites in the Distaff. Sent out by Steve Asmussen, who took the 2014 Distaff at Santa Anita with Untapable (Tapit), the Kentucky-bred is the mount of Hall of Famer Mike Smith, himself the winner of 26 Breeders' Cup races, including victories in the Distaff astride the likes of Azeri (200, Inside Information (1995), Royal Delta (2012) and Zenyatta (2008).
Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway) remains in the hunt for a Horse of the Year title, but faces his stiffest test to date in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf over a 12-furlong trip at which he is unproven. Flawless in five runs this season, the 5-year-old is a four-time Grade I winner and makes his first start since scoring by 3/4 of a length in the GI Arlington Million over a mile and a quarter Aug. 10. Trainer Chad Brown has 12 Breeders' Cup wins to his credit, 10 of which have come on the turf, but has yet to score in the Turf.
The same cannot be said for the GI Filly & Mare Turf, as Peter Brant's Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) will look to become the first horse in the history of the race to post back-to-back victories. In what shapes as perhaps the most intriguing head-to-head matchup of the entire meeting, the 5-year-old will have to defeat Ballydoyle's Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Though she was given a first-preference in the Turf, multiple sources have confirmed that the 4-year-old, runner-up to Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in last year's Turf, will run in this spot instead. The bay exits a successful defense of her title in the Oct. 19 G1 QIPCO British Champion S., having finished fifth to Enable in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 13 days prior.
The once-beaten Blue Chipper (Tiznow) will make history in the Dirt Mile when he becomes the first Breeders' Cup runner for the emerging racing nation of South Korea. A Kentucky-bred 4-year-old, he broke a track record when winning the Busan Owners' Cup by 10 lengths in July and most recently cut back to six furlongs to become the country's first winner of the Keeneland Korea Sprint Sept. 8. Connections have engaged Flavien Prat, who guided Battle of Midway (Smart Strike) to victory in the 2017 Dirt Mile.
The Breeders' Cup will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network and NBC, with the marquee race, the $6-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic scheduled to run at 8:44 p.m. ET Saturday.
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